this was after he retired from the NBA after his stint with the Grizzlies lost in the 2012 Playoffs to the CP3/Griffin Clippers in 7 games pretty sure

When he retired he didn’t know what to do with the extra time, he was so used to the routine. Wake up, practice, etc.

So he’d wake up after retirement and just drive to kill time

https://youtube.com/shorts/aRZ7Z6WJnSE?is=vrhNJrbaqcV4NNK5

https://youtu.be/s5ur8bMaw0U?si=_o880Q4thDbSGsSz

Tbf, wasn’t Kobe kinda like that when he was younger?

lived life normally

Other than what he did at Eagle, Colorado.

He would nap

The amount of fan meme stuff is crazy back in the day. Entire image of people were crafted off that, like the Kobe and MJ stuff

Okay Stan.

Kobe was just a hapless victim who never had any control over the media narrative.

He was just a chill dude and all this other random shit happened around him while he was just utterly powerless and incapable of doing anything really. Just a big dummy who could dribble and shoot.

He put out a book called the fucking mamba mentality but sure, just the evil media out to get him. Dude was a legend in la but ya the media was really gonna crucify him

Kobe fans are so fucking transparent it’s hilarious. “Ya he got that mamba mentality he’s a killer out there!” Then turn around and go “well gee whiz he was just a country bumpkin who idk if he was capable of tying his shoes.”

Which is it?

I mean the facts of the case are also that the woman is on record texting multiple times that she didnt want to be part of any kind of gangbang and then Rose showed up at her house with a bunch of dudes when she was drunk and they gangbanged her.

The other stuff is all important, but you cant leave that part out.

She also was bragging about having sex with him at a party before he was formally charged. There’s a lot of stuff out there that makes it sound consensual.

Lol. That’s not how he got cleared. A jury wouldn’t just say “ah he didn’t know what it meant so he’s innocent.” There was a lot more to it than that for a jury to say he’s not guilty

“I’m sorry officer, I didn’t know I couldn’t do that”

Nope just going off what’s widely public knowledge

I haven’t seen the transcript, but there are news articles saying he was asked about consent and rose responded by asking what consent means.

It sounds strange, but it’s pretty common in depositions for a witness to ask what an attorney means by a particular word. I’ve seen it done with far simpler words than consent. You want to make sure you understand the question when the stakes are that high

All I know is he was found not liable by a jury and an appeal was refused. It’s not like he paid a settlement or something

I guarantee that’s the type of thing his defense attorney would have told him not to try to define in front of a jury

He was cleared by a jury. Not like he settled or anything. I’m not sure what more he can do. It’s not like I’m saying I think he’s a scholar

Maybe I’m remembering it wrong but was “Absolutely no fun” ever part of the Mamba Mentality branding? Seems like something alpha male bros cooked up later on because I distinctly remember Kobe going to parties and shit during the 2000s - at least that’s what Sports Center reported iirc.

And that came after a rape case and him literally chasing off his amazing MVP level teammate literally losing a finals series on purpose to prove a point

People do this shit when he literally threw a finals series vs Detroit because of his ego, then requested a trade either me or Shaq and had to blow up a contender and win 35 games after

It’s just so funny how selfish he was as a player, literally said it himself he chased of Shaq because he wanted to win on his own and people still do this

Did mamba mentality include interactions in Colorado

You’re posting on Reddit. Many people here do probably have to be told shower

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I know it did, but was it because he can’t read?

Tony was feeling himself with that Shakespearean ass title

It was the SATs. the “Derrick Rose” that did the test was an asian kid.

The literate?

What demographic

Hate vague posting ass cowards like you.

Say it with your whole chest.

Nike didnt have to do much.  It was mostly other players, former teammates, and other people recalling stories of how hardworking Kobe was.

But it was already well established Kobe was the first one in, last one out of the gym type of guy by the end of the first 3 peat. There were already a bunch of stories from guys like Shaq, Byron Scott, and Rick Fox attesting to Kobe’s work ethic. One of the big reasons behind the Kobe-Shaq feud was the hard working Kobe vs. fat and lazy Shaq dynamic. Kobe wasn’t even signed with Nike at this time.

I think Nike and the NBA just landed on a gold mine with Kobe, who was naturally such a polarizing, captivating figure. It also helped his physical build and playstyle was eerily reminiscent of Michael Jordan. They really just had to advertise Kobe as is, and people all over the world couldn’t get enough of him. The reception he got in Beijing 2008 was insane, I think he was more universally beloved than LeBron or Curry ever was.

This was around the Redeem Team era

How does this explain 2003-07, the period between the Colorado case and Kobe’s MVP/Finals runs?

I just wanted to address how teenagers on Reddit think the Colorado case is some recently uncovered dirt on Kobe. Everyone knew about the case back then but people just moved on, especially with some of the murky details that surfaced. Even Reddit was normal about Kobe until around 2021. Just read any old Kobe thread.

I don’t understand how people don’t get this. He wasn’t successful for being a horrible person, he was a basketball player. If you don’t put athletes on a pedestal, there’s nothing to be disappointed or upset about.

No one is forcing you to buy their shoes, listen to their politics, or use their promo codes for their endorsement deals. If you’re looking up to professional athletes as role models for anything outside of maybe work ethic (which is a big maybe), you’re doing yourself a disservice. There are no shortage of great people we know personally in our day-to-day that we should really be looking up to.

Everything I’ve ever seen is that it was consensual. Kobe on the other hand literally said he realizes his wasn’t

Don’t forget the TS% on Basketball Reference

Because when that case came out and even the results. It was a different time. Before social media it was not guilty until proven innocent. Also like another poster said plausible deniability. He was young when he was accused, He was never found guilty and also outside stories of being an a hole to teammates never was in any other court related incident of that magnitude.

This is hilariously not accurate.

God it’s so fucking annoying how people utter the most incorrect shit just to push a narrative.

Everyone always states this like a confirmation of guilt but they don’t even know that the apology was required by the alleged victim’s lawyers as a condition for her to not testify in the criminal case.